ACPA Ethics Code
Final Version, Approved 2006
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Statement of Ethical Principles and Standards
PREAMBLE
ACPA – College Student Educators International is an association whose members are dedicated to
enhancing the worth, dignity, potential, and uniqueness of each individual within post-secondary
educational institutions and, thus, to the service of society. ACPA members are committed to
contributing to the comprehensive education of students, protecting human rights, advancing
knowledge of student growth and development, and promoting the effectiveness of institutional
programs, services, and organizational units. As a means of supporting these commitments,
members of ACPA subscribe to the following principles and standards of ethical conduct.
Acceptance of membership in ACPA signifies that the member understands the provisions of this
statement.
This statement is designed to address issues particularly relevant to college student affairs practice.
Persons charged with duties in various functional areas of higher education are also encouraged to
consult ethical standards specific to their professional responsibilities.
USE OF THIS STATEMENT
The principal purpose of this statement is to assist student affairs professionals (individuals who are
administrators, staff, faculty, and adjunct faculty in the field of student affairs) in regulating their
own behavior by sensitizing them to potential ethical problems and by providing standards useful in
daily practice. Observance of ethical behavior also benefits fellow professionals and students due to
the effect of modeling. Self-regulation is the most effective and preferred means of assuring ethical
behavior. If, however, a professional observes conduct by a fellow professional that seems contrary
to the provisions of this document, several courses of action are available. Suggestions to assist with
addressing ethical concerns are included in the Appendix at the end of this document.
ETHICAL FOUNDATIONS
No statement of ethical standards can anticipate all situations that have ethical implications. When
student affairs professionals are presented with dilemmas that are not explicitly addressed herein, a
number of perspectives may be used in conjunction with the four standards identified in this
document to assist in making decisions and determining appropriate courses of action. These
standards are: 1) Professional Responsibility and Competence; 2) Student Learning and
Development; 3) Responsibility to the Institution; and 4) Responsibility to Society.
Ethical principles should guide the behaviors of professionals in everyday practice. Principles are
assumed to be constant and, therefore, provide consistent guidelines for decision-making. In
addition, student affairs professionals should strive to develop the virtues, or habits of behavior, that
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are characteristic of people in helping professions. Contextual issues must also be taken into
account. Such issues include, but are not limited to, culture, temporality (issues bound by time), and
phenomenology (individual perspective) and community norms. Because of the complexity of
ethical conversation and dialogue, the skill of simultaneously confronting differences in perspective
and respecting the rights of persons to hold different perspectives becomes essential. For an
extended discussion of these aspects of ethical thinking, see Appendix B.
ETHICAL STANDARDS
Four ethical standards related to primary constituencies with whom student affairs professionals
work, colleagues, students, educational institutions, and society – are specified.
1.0
Professional Responsibility and Competence. Student affairs professionals are responsible
for promoting and facilitating student learning about students and their world, enhancing the
quality and understanding of student life, advocating for student welfare and concerns, and
advancing the profession and its ideals. They possess the knowledge, skills, emotional
stability, and maturity to discharge responsibilities as administrators, advisors, consultants,
counselors, programmers, researchers, and teachers. High levels of professional competence
are expected in the performance of their duties and responsibilities. Student affairs
professionals are responsible for the consequences of their actions or inaction.
As ACPA members, student affairs professionals will:
1.1
Conduct their professional activities in accordance with sound theoretical principles
and adopt a personal value system congruent with the basic tenets of the profession.
1.2
Contribute to the development of the profession (e.g., recruiting students to the
profession, serving professional organizations, advocating the use of ethical thinking
through educational and professional development activities, improving professional
practices, and conducting and reporting research).
1.3
Maintain and enhance professional effectiveness by continually improving skills and
acquiring new knowledge.
1.4
Monitor their personal and professional functioning and effectiveness and seek
assistance from appropriate professionals as needed.
1.5
Maintain current, accurate knowledge of all regulations related to privacy of student
records and electronic transmission of records and update knowledge of privacy
legislation on a regular basis.
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1.6
Represent their professional credentials, competencies, and limitations accurately and
correct any misrepresentations of these qualifications by others.
1.7
Establish fees for professional services after consideration of the ability of the
recipient to pay. They will provide some services, including professional
development activities for colleagues, for little or no remuneration.
1.8
Adhere to ethical practices in securing positions: [a] represent education and
experiences accurately; [b] respond to offers promptly; [c] interview for positions
only when serious about accepting an offer; [d] accept only those positions they
intend to assume; [e] advise current employer and all institutions at which
applications are pending immediately when they sign a contract; [f] inform their
employers before leaving a position within a reasonable amount of time as outlined
by the institution and/or supervisor; and [g] commit to position upon acceptance.
1.9
Provide an honest, accurate, and respectful reference. If it is not deemed possible to
provide a positive reference, contact the ‘searching employee’ to inform them of
such. It is not appropriate to provide a positive reference to move an individual
beyond a department or institution.
Student Learning and Development. Student development is an essential purpose of higher
education. Support of this process is a major responsibility of the student affairs profession.
Development is complex and includes cognitive, physical, moral, social, emotional, career,
spiritual, personal, and intellectual dimensions. Professionals must be sensitive to and
knowledgeable about the variety of backgrounds, cultures, experiences, abilities, personal
characteristics and viewpoints evident in the student population and be able to incorporate
appropriate theoretical perspectives to identify learning opportunities and to reduce barriers
to development. Multicultural competence is a fundamental element of ethical practice.
As ACPA members, student affairs professionals will:
2.1
Treat students with respect as persons who possess dignity, worth, and the ability to
be self-directed.
2.2
Avoid dual relationships with students where one individual serves in multiple roles
that create conflicting responsibilities, role confusion, and unclear expectations (e.g.,
counselor/employer, supervisor/best friend, or faculty/sexual partner) that may
involve incompatible roles and conflicting responsibilities.
2.3
Abstain from all forms of harassment, including but not limited to verbal and written
communication, physical actions and electronic transmissions.
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2.4
Abstain from sexual intimacy with clients or with students for whom they
have supervisory, evaluative, or instructional responsibility.
2.5
Inform students of the conditions under which they may receive assistance.
2.6
Inform students of the nature and/or limits of confidentiality. They will share
information about the students only in accordance with institutional policies and
applicable laws, when given their permission, or when required to prevent personal
harm to themselves or others.
2.7
Refer students to appropriate specialists before entering or continuing a helping
relationship when the professional’s expertise or level of comfort is exceeded. If the
referral is declined, professional staff is not obliged to continue the relationship nor
should they do so if there is not direct benefit to the student.
2.8
Inform students about the purpose of assessment and research; make explicit the
planned use of results prior to assessment requesting participation in either.
2.9
Comply with the institutional guidelines on electronic transmission of information.
2.10
Provide appropriate contextual information to students prior to and following the use
of any evaluation procedures to place results in proper perspective with other factors
relevant to the assessment process (e.g., socioeconomic, gender, identity, ethnic,
cultural, and gender related).
2.11
Discuss with students issues, attitudes, and behaviors that have ethical implications.
2.12
Develop multicultural knowledge, skills, competence, and use appropriate elements
of these capacities in their work with students.
2.13
Faculty should inform prospective graduate students of program expectations,
predominant theoretical orientations, and skills needed for successful program
completion, as well as positions received by recent graduates.
2.14
Assure that required experiences involving self-disclosure are communicated to
prospective graduate students. When the preparation program offers experiences that
emphasize self-disclosure or other relatively intimate or personal involvement (e.g.,
group or individual counseling or growth groups), professionals must not have
current or anticipated administrative, supervisory, or evaluative authority over
participants.
2.15
Provide graduate students with a broad knowledge base consisting of theory,
research, and practice.
2.16
Educate graduate students about ethical standards, responsibilities and codes of the
profession. Uphold these standards within all preparation programs.
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2.17
Assess all relevant competencies and interpersonal functioning of students throughout
the preparation program, communicate these assessments to students, and take
appropriate corrective actions including dismissal when warranted.
2.18
Assure that field supervisors are qualified to provide supervision to graduate students
and are informed of their ethical responsibilities in this role.
2.19
Support professional preparation program efforts by providing assistantships,
practical field placements, and consultation to students and faculty.
2.20
Gain approval of research plans involving human subjects from the institutional
committee with oversight responsibility prior to the initiation of the study. In the
absence of such a committee, they will seek to create procedures to protect the rights
and ensure the safety of research participants.
2.21
Conduct and report research studies accurately. Researchers will not engage in
fraudulent research nor will they distort or misrepresent their data or deliberately bias
their results.
2.22
Cite previous works on a topic when writing or when speaking to professional
audiences.
2.23
Comply with laws and standards common in the helping professions related to
citation and attribution of information accessed electronically where public domain
status may be ambiguous.
2.24
Acknowledge major contributions to research projects and professional writings
through joint authorships with the principal contributor listed first. They will
acknowledge minor technical or professional contributions in notes or introductory
statements.
2.25
Co-authorship should reflect a joint collaboration. When involvement was ancillary
it is inappropriate to pressure others for joint authorship listing on publications.
2.26
Share original research data with qualified others upon request.
2.27
Communicate the results of any research judged to be of value to other professionals
and not withhold results reflecting unfavorably on specific institutions, programs,
services, or prevailing opinion.
2.28
Submit manuscripts for consideration to only one journal at a time. They will not
seek to publish previously published or accepted-for-publication materials in other
media or publications without first informing all editors and/or publishers concerned.
They will make appropriate references in the text and receive permission to use
copyrights.
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Responsibility to the Institution. Institutions of higher education provide the context for
student affairs practice. Institutional mission, goals, policies, organizational structure, and
culture, combined with individual judgment and professional standards, define and delimit
the nature and extent of practice. Student affairs professionals share responsibility with other
members of the academic community for fulfilling the institutional mission. Responsibility to
promote the development of students and to support the institution’s policies and interests
require that professionals balance competing demands.
As ACPA members, student affairs professionals will:
3.1
Contribute to their institution by supporting its mission, goals, policies, and abiding
by its procedures.
3.2
Seek resolution when they and their institution encounter substantial disagreements
concerning professional or personal values. Resolution may require sustained efforts
to modify institutional policies and practices or result in voluntary termination of
employment.
3.3
Recognize that conflicts among students, colleagues, or the institution should be
resolved without diminishing respect for or appropriate obligations to any party
involved.
Assure that information provided about the institution is factual and accurate.
3.4
3.5
Inform appropriate officials of conditions that may be disruptive or damaging to their
institution.
3.6
Inform supervisors of conditions or practices that may restrict institutional or
professional effectiveness.
3.7
Refrain from attitudes or actions that impinge on colleagues’ dignity, moral code,
privacy, worth, professional functioning, and/or personal growth.
3.8
Abstain from sexual intimacies with colleagues or with staff for whom they have
supervisory, evaluative, or instructional responsibility.
3.9
Assure that participation by staff in planned activities that emphasize self-disclosure
or other relatively intimate or personal involvement is voluntary and that the leader(s)
of such activities do not have administrative, supervisory, or evaluative authority over
participants.
3.10
Evaluate job performance of subordinates regularly and recommend appropriate
actions to enhance professional development and improve performance.
3.12
Define job responsibilities, decision-making procedures, mutual expectations,
accountability procedures, and evaluation criteria with subordinates and supervisors.
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3.13
Provide fair and honest assessments and feedback for colleagues’ job performance
and provide opportunities for professional growth as appropriate.
3.14
Seek evaluations of their job performance and/or services they provide.
3.15
Disseminate information that accurately describes the responsibilities of position
vacancies, required qualifications, and the institution.
3.16
Adhere to ethical practices when facilitating or participating in a selection process by
[a] representing the department and institution honestly and accurately [b]
periodically notify applicants of their status; [c] adhere to established guidelines,
protocol, and standards for the selection process; and [d] provide accurate
information about the resources available to applicants once employed.
3.17
Provide training to student affairs search and screening committee members.
3.18
Refrain from using their positions to seek unjustified personal gains, sexual favors,
unfair advantages, or unearned goods and services not normally accorded in such
positions.
3.19
Recognize their fiduciary responsibility to the institution. They will ensure that funds
for which they have oversight are expended following established procedures and in
ways that optimize value, are accounted for properly, and contribute to the
accomplishment of the institution’s mission. They also will assure equipment,
facilities, personnel, and other resources are used to promote the welfare of the
institution and students.
3.20
Restrict their private interests, obligations, and transactions in ways to minimize
conflicts of interest or the appearance of conflicts of interest. They will identify their
personal views and actions as private citizens from those expressed or undertaken as
institutional representatives.
3.21
Evaluate programs, services, and organizational structure regularly and systematically
to assure conformity to published standards and guidelines. Evaluations should be
conducted using rigorous evaluation methods and principles, and the results should be
made available to appropriate institutional personnel.
3.22
Acknowledge contributions by others
implementation, evaluations, and reports.
to
program
development,
program
3.23 Maintain current knowledge about changes in technology and legislation that are
significant for the range of institutional responsibilities in their professional domain
(e.g., knowledge of privacy and security issues, use of the internet, and free
speech/hate speech).
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Responsibility to Society. Student affairs professionals, both as citizens and practitioners,
have a responsibility to contribute to the improvement of the communities in which they live
and work and to act as advocates for social justice for members of those communities. They
respect individuality and individual differences. They recognize that our communities are
enhanced by social and individual diversity manifested by characteristics such as age,
culture, class, ethnicity, gender, ability, gender identity, race, religion, and sexual orientation.
Student affairs professionals work to protect human rights and promote respect for human
diversity in higher education.
As ACPA members, student affairs professionals will:
4.1
Assist students in becoming productive, ethical, and responsible citizens.
4.2
Demonstrate concern for the welfare of all students and work for constructive change
on behalf of students.
4.3
Not discriminate on the basis of age, culture, ethnicity, gender, ability, gender
identity, race, class, religion, or sexual orientation. They will actively work to change
discriminatory practices.
4.4
Demonstrate regard for social codes and moral expectations of the communities in
which they live and work. At the same time, they will be aware of situations in which
concepts of social justice may conflict with local moral standards and norms and may
choose to point out these conflicts in ways that respect the rights and values of all
who are involved. They will recognize that violations of accepted moral and legal
standards may involve their clients, students, or colleagues in damaging personal
conflicts and may impugn the integrity of the profession, their own reputations, and
that of the employing institution.
4.5
Report to the appropriate authority any condition that is likely to harm their clients
and/or others.
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APPENDIX A
Suggestions for Resolving Ethical Misconduct
USE OF THIS STATEMENT
ƒ
Initiate a private conversation. Because unethical conduct often is due to a lack of awareness or
understanding of ethical standards as described in the preceding document, a private
conversation between the target of inappropriate action(s) and the individual being inappropriate
is an important initial line of action. This conference, if pursued in a spirit of collegiality and
sincerity, often may resolve the ethical concern and promote future ethical conduct.
ƒ
Pursue institutional resources. If a private conference does not resolve the problem institutional
resources may be pursued. It is recommended individuals work with mentors, supervisors,
faculty, colleagues, or peers to research campus based resources.
ƒ
Request consultation from ACPA Ethics Committee. If an individual is unsure whether a
particular behavior, activity, or practice falls under the provisions of this statement, the Ethics
Committee may be contacted in writing. A detailed written description (omitting data identifying
the person(s) involved), describing the potentially unethical behavior, activity, or practice and
the circumstances surrounding the situation should be submitted to a member of the ACPA
Ethics Committee. Members of the Committee will provide the individual with a summary of
opinions regarding the ethical appropriateness of the conduct or practice in question, as well as
some suggestions as to what action(s) could be taken. Because these opinions are based on
limited information, no specific situation or action will be judged “unethical.” Responses
rendered by the Committee are advisory only and are not an official statement on behalf of
ACPA. Please contact the ACPA Executive Director for more information.
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APPENDIX B – ETHICAL FOUNDATIONS OF THIS DOCUMENT
The principles that provide the foundation for this document are:
•
Act to benefit others. Service to humanity is the basic tenet underlying student affairs practice.
Hence, the student affairs profession exists to: [a] promote cognitive, social, physical,
intellectual, and spiritual development of students; [b] bring an institution-wide awareness of the
interconnectedness of learning and development throughout the institution in academic, service,
and management functions; [c] contribute to the effective functioning of the institution; and [d]
provide programs and services consistent with this principle.
•
Promote justice. Student affairs professionals are committed to assuring fundamental fairness for
all persons within the academic community. The values of impartiality, equity, and reciprocity
are basic. When there are greater needs than resources available or when the interests of
constituencies conflict, justice requires honest consideration of all claims and requests and
equitable (not necessarily equal) distribution of goods and services. A crucial aspect of
promoting justice is demonstrating respect for human differences and opposing intolerance of
these differences. Important human differences include, but are not limited to, characteristics
such as ability, age, class, culture, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, race, religion, or sexual
orientation.
•
Respect autonomy. Student affairs professionals respect and promote autonomy and privacy.
This includes the rights of persons whose cultural traditions elevate the importance of the family
over the importance of the individual to make choices based on the desires of their families if
they wish. Students’ freedom of choice and action are not restricted unless their actions
significantly interfere with the welfare of others or the accomplishment of the institution’s
mission.
•
Be faithful. Student affairs professionals make all efforts to be accurate in their presentation of
facts, honor agreements, and trustworthy in the performance of their duties.
•
Do no harm. Student affairs professionals do not engage in activities that cause either physical
or psychological damage to others. In addition to their personal actions, student affairs
professionals are especially vigilant to assure that the institutional policies do not: [a] hinder
students’ opportunities to benefit from the learning experiences available in the environment; [b]
threaten individuals’ self-worth, dignity, or safety; or [c] discriminate unjustly or illegally.
Student affairs professionals are expected to understand that students from non-dominant
cultures and groups that differ from the majority may feel harmed by attitudes and processes that
are considered harmless by members of the dominant (i.e. majority) group.
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Virtues: Habitual behavior. The virtues that student affairs educators should work to develop are
based on widely accepted ideas about the characteristics of people in helping professions who are
consistently ethical in their choices and behavior. Virtues differ from principles in that they are
related to specific contexts and demonstrate personal characteristics that people in that context, in
this case the student affairs profession, value. Virtues balance principles in that they are somewhat
flexible and reflect the means by which a person acts on values. The four virtues associated with this
profession are prudence, integrity, respectfulness, and benevolence.
•
•
Self-regarding virtues. Prudence and integrity are virtues related to the behavior of a person
in a particular situation. Prudence signifies thoughtfulness and unwillingness to jump to
conclusions. Integrity signifies consistency and wholeness; a lack of dramatic behavioral
differences from one situation to another.
Other-regarding virtues. Respectfulness and benevolence are virtues that describe a
person’s treatment of others. Respectful persons are prudent - they take time to think about
appropriate responses to others in unfamiliar situations. Respectfulness is also connected to
benevolence, the consistent habit of taking other people’s well-being into consideration.
Context: Finding patterns of meaning and developing ethical perspectives
Because our campuses are comprised of people from all over the world, have official connections
with institutions in many countries, and also serve people who are Americans with significant
allegiance to non-dominant cultures, it is important to take context into account when addressing
ethical concerns. There are three frames of reference that should be considered: culture, temporality,
and phenomenology.
•
•
•
Culture. Every culture has its own ideas about values, virtues, social and family roles, and
acceptable behavior. Cultures may be grounded in ethnicity, faith, gender, generation, sexual
orientation, physical ability, or geographic area to name a few. Every campus also has a
range of cultures based on work status or location as well as a dominant culture of its own.
Ethical dilemmas often arise among or between people from different cultures. Ethical
decision-making suggests that the values of relevant cultures be examined when dilemmas
arise and overt conversations about conflicting values take place, if necessary.
Temporality. This term suggests that an awareness of time-related issues be present. These
include the duration of the problem, the urgency of its resolution, the time of the academic
year, the duration of the relationships among the people involved, and the “spirit of the
times” or Zeitgeist.
Phenomenology. All persons have both cultural roots and individual attributes that shape
their perspectives. Phenomenology refers to the personal and individual points of view of the
persons involved in the situation. Both justice and prudence require that decision-makers do
not assume anything about a person’s perspective based on cultural background until that
perspective is understood in both its individual and its cultural contexts.
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References for additional information
Fried, J. (2003). Ethical standards and principles. In S. Komives, D. Woodard, & Associates (Eds.),
Student services: A handbook for the profession (4th ed., pp. 107-127). San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass.
Kitchener, K. (1985). Ethical principles and ethical decisions in student affairs. In H. Canon & R.
Brown (Eds.), Applied ethics in student services (New Directions in Student Services, No.
30, pp.17-30). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Meara, N., Schmidt, L., & Day, J. (1996). A foundation for ethical decisions, policies and character.
The Counseling Psychologist, 24, 4-77.